NOTE: This is a bit of local color. The actual grandson of Wyatt Earpis making this presentation. So, if you are in the area, you might want to look into it. lcrBy Michael P. Neufeld

Big Bear Lake, CA – The grandson of Wyatt Earp will present WYATT EARP: A LIFE ON THE FRONTIER on Sunday, September 18, at 3 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Mansion. He carries the same name as his legendary grandfather and offers family stories and historical facts to offer an insider’s view of Wyatt Earp.

Wyatt Earp: A Life On the Frontier will be presented Sunday, September 18, at the Knickerbocker Mansion at 3 p.m. (Photo by Arts Council of Big Bear Valley – FILE PHOTO.)

The presentation is offered by the Arts Council of Big Bear Valley — Theater at the Mansion MMXI.V. — and includes a dinner after the show.

The Grandson

Wyatt Earp has performed all over the world to explain the way his grandfather lived during the days of gunfights, gambling and living in the Wild West.

Tickets

Following the presentation, Chef Robert will prepare a special dinner menu for $25 per person starting at 5 p.m.

September 8, 2011 3:56:16 PM

Ian O’Neill

Star Trek inspired me to pursue a career in science (and by extension, science writing). It really is as simple as that.

Through school, college and university, my life was rich in the sci-fi ideas of warp drives, photon torpedoes, the Prime Directive and Jean-Luc Picard‘s : “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.” The spirit of discovery and adventure inspired me to learn about what makes our Universe tick.

Unsurprisingly, on a daily basis I come across scientists who claim the same thing: Star Trek, through its various incarnations, inspired them. For me, I was (and always will be) a Star Trek: The Next Generation geek, but today is a celebration of The Original Series that first aired on this day 45 years ago.

On Sept. 8, 1966, the Star Trek episode “The Man Trap” hit U.S. television screens on NBC and continued to run for three seasons. At the time, Gene Roddenberry’s creation failed to generate the fans it has today, struggling with low ratings. By 1969, The Original Series had ended. It wasn’t until NBC syndicated the show that it gained popularity in the following years.

Since its humble beginnings, 11 movies have been released, including four spin-off TV series (The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, Voyager and Enterprise) and one animated series, spanning 45 years. The most recent movie, directed by J.J. Abrams and released in 2009, received rave reviews, proving Roddenberry’s creation still inspires the modern world.

Naturally, the science described throughout is often rather “out there” and not always scientifically accurate, but through expert storytelling and a believable universe, many of these issues could be overlooked. However, Star Trek science has also invigorated advanced physics theories that are slowly being taken seriously.

Gene Roddenberry’s son puts this down to his father’s belief that mankind can achieve anything. Although warp drive was needed for the original TV series so that Kirk and co. wouldn’t have to spend decades traveling from one star to the next, this science fiction idea solved a problem — how can mankind become an interstellar species?

“My father used to speak of the pyramids, not as mysteries, but as examples of astonishing human achievement,” Rod Roddenberry told Discovery News. “I share his innate belief in human ability.”

“So while I am no expert in quantum mechanics or astrophysics, I will say that we are an amazing species with a history of breaking through our perceived limitations and achieving the unachievable. I see no reason why warp drive couldn’t eventually be part of that tradition.”

Richard Obousy, physicist, advanced propulsion expert and co-founder of Icarus Interstellar Inc., a non-profit group of scientists dedicated to sending a probe to another star, is one of those scientists who was also inspired by Star Trek‘s science and is currently applying modern physics to understand how a warp drive might function in reality.

“I’ve been a devoted science fiction fan since childhood, and Star Trek has always been one of my favorites,” Obousy told Discovery News. “While Star Trek is a space ‘opera’ at a superficial level, at its core, it is about human creativity and the vast potential of technologies that inspired human minds can construct.”

“The Star TrekWarp Drive allows the crew of the Enterprise to travel at Einstein-defying velocities, and the Transporter can turn pieces of matter (even human beings) into pure energy and transport them from an orbiting space station to a planetary surface almost instantaneously. But this awesome technology is not the only appeal of this revolutionary work of television art — also just as compelling is the complex interplay between the characters of Star Trek and their environment.”

Roddenberry agrees, and believes his father’s work finds a deep human connection with the viewer.

“Star Trek is amazing in that it speaks to people of all different backgrounds on a very human level,” said Roddenberry. “However, I would say that its largest achievement lies in the fact that it conveys one singular message more strongly than anything else –- hope for the future.”

And this “hope” is certainly being reflected in the hi-tech world we are becoming accustomed to. Although the modern world is filled with conflict, suffering and uncertainty, the story of Star Trek has always shown us that mankind could be capable of better; to join forces and push deeper into space, making untold discoveries. But on a technological level, Gene Roddenberry’s vision is being proven every day, sometimes it’s even surpassed.

“One aspect of Star Trek that I’ve always found so appealing is its capacity to illustrate how we underestimate the potential of technological progress,” Obousy added. “When I first watched the original Star Trek in the 1980’s, the concept of the Communicator seemed like 23rd century technology, something that we’d unlikely see in my lifetime. Yet today, with our stunning tablet computers and next generation ‘super-cellphones’, the Star Trek communicator seems archaic in comparison.”

Whether mankind’s future will be filled with interstellar treks to far-off worlds, meeting and collaborating (and sometimes fighting) with alien civilizations, is pure fantasy. But the future described in Star Trek provides us with the hope that the almost Utopian Star Trek galaxy might just happen. And who knows, like some of the technologies sitting on my desk right this moment, perhaps some aspects of Gene Roddenberry’s creation might even be surpassed.

“Star Trek not only provides a confidence that there will be a tomorrow, but the belief that it can be better than today.” Roddenberry concluded.

“Now it’s up to each of us to rise to the challenge and ‘make it so.'”

Image: Gene Roddenberry (third from the right, dressed in a brown suit) in 1976 with most of the cast of Star Trek visiting the Space Shuttle Enterprise at the Rockwell International plant at Palmdale, California, USA (NASA).

Reuters – LONDON (Reuters) – The earliest surviving Jane Austen manuscript, a handwritten draft for a book that was never published, sold for 993,250 pounds ($1.6 million) at Sotheby’s on Thursday. Full Story

Pinocchio’s Real Roots Mapped

July 8, 2011 5:30:00 AM

The tale of the wooden puppet Pinocchio created by a carpenter in Florence may arguably be the most widely-known children’s tale.

Now new research reveals that the story, written by Carlo Collodi 130 years ago on July 7, 1881, has deep roots in reality.

According to Alessandro Vegni, a computer expert, who has been comparing the tale with historic maps, the story of Pinocchio is set in the Tuscan village of San Miniato Basso, which lies midway between Pisa and Florence. The village’s original name was actually “Pinocchio,” according to the research.

The tale of Geppetto and his pine wood puppet, serialized in an Italian juvenile magazine under the title La Storia di un Burattino (The Story of a Marionette) in 1881, was turned into a book two years later called, “The Adventures of Pinocchio.”

Believed to be the second-most translated book after the Bible, the novel has inspired hundreds of new editions, stage plays, merchandising and movies, such as Walt Disney’s iconic animated version.

But new details about the story’s Florentine town setting reveal fascinating new details about the iconic work.

“The present name [of the village of San Miniato Basso] was given in 1924.” Vegni said. “We know from historical records that the village was originally called ‘Pinocchio,’ probably after the stream that runs nearby.”

Collodi certainly knew the village. His father, a well-known chef, lived nearby for several years. In 1825, one year before Carlo’s birth, his father moved from the Pinocchio area to Florence to work for Marquis Lorenzo Ginori Lisci.

Vegni believes that Collodi not only visited San Miniato, but also met several people there and most likely used real people to inspire his characters.

“When Geppetto names his puppet, he says that he knew a whole family of Pinocchi: Pinocchio the father, Pinocchia the mother, and Pinocchi the children.”

“The inhabitants of San Miniato were called Pinocchi or Pinocchini,” Vegni wrote.

Starting in San Miniato, Vegni’s research showed several analogies with Collodi’s tale.

There is the “Casa Il Grillo” (Cricket House), a rural building whose name might refer to the Talking Cricket and the village of Osteria Bianca (White Inn) where the pub still stands which Vegni believes inspired the Red Shrimp Inn.

The “Fonte delle Fate” (“Source of the Fairies”) whose unusual name might have inspired the Field of Miracles where Pinocchio planted his gold coins so they would reproduce into several thousand gold coins is also on the map.

Intriguingly, the Fox and the Cat encountered by Pinocchio appear to have links with two features appearing on maps: the Rio delle Volpi (Stream of Foxes) and two houses called “Rigatti” (the name evokes “gatti,” cats).

Not far away, the village of La Lisca (Fishbone), which oddly boasts the bone of a prehistoric cetacean on the façade of a house, might have inspired the plot of Pinocchio being swallowed by the Dogfish.

Certainly, real-life place names played a role when the author of Pinocchio chose his pen name.

Born Carlo Lorenzini, the writer went by the name Carlo Collodi after his beloved mother’s home town Collodi, near Pistoia in Tuscany.

But not everyone buys into Vegni’s claim.

According to Gianni Greco of the Associazione Pinocchio, Pinocchio was set between Florence and Castello, in a little town nearby.

“The research is interesting, but I do not believe that Lorenzini was inspired by San Miniato and its surroundings,” Greco, who owns a large collection of Pinocchio’s rare editions, including the first one, told Discovery News.

“He spent his summers in Castello at his brother’s villa and there he penned the book. At Castello he met Giovanna Ragionieri, a blond little girl with blue eyes, who is said to have inspired the character of the Blue Haired Fairy,” Greco said.

“Even if Jane Shaxspere were not related to the playwright, the echo of their names might well have meant this story stuck in his mind,” she argued. “It’s a good reminder that, while Shakespeare’s plays draw on well-attested literary sources, they also often have their roots in gossip, the mundane, and the domestic detail of everyday life.”

A Video Game that Really Gives You the Shivers

May 28, 2011 4:59:30 AM

Emad Hanna

Digital entertainment is on the road to becoming a fully immersive experience. Last week at the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Disney researchers unveiled a project called ‘Tactile Brush’ that will be used to create creepy sensations during movies. The technology makes use of phenomena that have been well established for many decades.

It has long been known that if two vibrating objects are successively placed at different points on the skin, an illusion of motion can be created between the two points. Another illusion known as ‘phantom tactile sensation’ is done by placing vibrating objects at different points on the skin at the same time which creates a tactile sensation between the points.

The ‘Tactile Brush’ uses both of these ideas to produce all kinds of sensations. An array of vibrating coils is placed in the user’s chair and by manipulating the intensity of vibration of different coils, the system can create sensations as powerful as a vehicle making a hard turn or as subtle as a drop of rain trickling down the skin.

This new system is sure to perk up the ears of gamers and thrill enthusiasts the world over. Although tactile feedback systems (Haptic technology) have been around since the 1950’s they have never enjoyed mainstream success in the gaming or entertainment industry. ‘Tactile Brush’ is hoping to change that. Ali Israr, one of the developers of the system, tells New Scientist that this will open up a new untapped realm for digital entertainment. “Two metres squared – that’s the total area of our skin,” he says. “It’s a big area.”

DAVID DUCHOVNY and GILLIAN ANDERSON have both signed on to star in the second X-FILES feature film. The movie will pick up four years after the 2002 finale that left agents MULDER and SCULLY on the run from the FBI. Executive producer FRANK SPOTNITZ claims the script is nearly finished, saying, "We’ve worked out most of the plot." He claims the sequel will be light on mythology, adding, "It’s very liberating to be freed of that." The film will begin shooting after X-Files creator CHRIS CARTER and 20th Century Fox settle a lawsuit over syndication profits.26/05/2006 03:42